It has been a tough start for Laschet as party leader.
A couple of bad state elections, scandals have shaken the party, a divisive internal battle for the post of Chancellor.
In the east and in the countryside, the CDU is losing votes to right-wing nationalist alternatives for Germany, in the west and the big cities, the greens are puffing in the neck.
Tonight, Germany's eyes were fixed on little Saxony-Anhalt in former East Germany.
The last state election before the big one in September, when Germany will appoint a new Chancellor after 16 years with Merkel.
Would the negative trend for the CDU continue?
In some opinion polls, the AfD has been ahead of the CDU and the election was predicted to be a thriller.
But the first polling station survey quite early in the evening quickly put an end to the tension.
Voters chose CDU and continuity.
Long-awaited relief for the CDU
Laschet drew a sigh of relief that could be heard almost all the way from Berlin to Magdeburg.
The result may have been a hint: Maybe voters do not want too big changes now that the country is recovering from the pandemic?
In that case, it is good news for Laschet, who is widely regarded as a candidate for continuity, a continuation of Merkel's policies.
Tonight's winner, local CDU leader Reiner Haselhoff, was quick to point out that this was a victory for the party as a whole.
He is one of those who supported the more conservative Söder as chancellor candidate but now talked about a united CDU standing strong before the election this autumn.
It is still a long way to September when the leader of the EU's most populous and economically important country will be elected. But after a few shaky months, Laschet now got the trend break he longed for and the role as Merkel's Crown Prince seems a little closer.